Romans 16:13

Salute Rufus the chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

Conybeare and Howson did not hesitate to identify this Rufus as the son of Simon of Cyrene who bore the Saviour's cross (Mark 15:21), and many agree with this; but Batey dismissed such an identification as "mere conjecture."[29] The probability persists, however, that this Rufus is the one mentioned by Mark; for, as Barrett noted,

He (Rufus) plays no part in Mark's story and must have been named only for identification. This means that he must have been known in the church (probably Rome) for which the second gospel was written.[30]

Conybeare and Howson's comment is to the same effect, thus:

Mark (Mark 15:21) mentions Simon of Cyrene as "the father of Alexander and Rufus"; the latter, therefore, was a Christian well known to those for whom St. Mark wrote, and probably is the same here mentioned. It is gratifying to think that she whom St. Paul mentions here with such respectful affection, was the wife of that Simon who bore the Saviour's cross.[31]

Chosen in the Lord ... is not a reference to anything such as the doctrine of election, but simply means "one of God's choice men." Adam Clarke called attention to biblical expressions such as "choice gifts" (Deuteronomy 12:11) and "choice men" (Judges 22:16), and noted that:

By the same use of the word, the companions of Paul and Barnabas are termed "chosen men," persons in whom the church of God could confide.[32]

His mother and mine ... was very probably intended by Paul as a warm, personal, and respectful recognition of a gracious Christian woman who had treated him as a son and had aided and encouraged his marvelous work; but there is another possibility that cannot be omitted from consideration. When Paul became a Christian, it is possible that his own parents rejected him, and that he was adopted by the mother of Alexander and Rufus. The total absence from Paul's writings of any mention of his parents, and the known custom of the Jews of holding a funeral for apostates from Judaism (funerals of the living dead, in their view), and withal, Paul's plaintive cry:

For whom I have suffered the loss of all things ... that I might gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).

- all these things suggest a family crisis when Paul was converted to Christ. Then, there is also the problem of Paul's wife. The fact that he was married may be inferred from his apparent membership in the Sanhedrin; and, although no absolute certainty exists with reference to such considerations as these, there certainly exists the possibility that when Paul became a Christian, he was cast out by all of his immediate family, though not by all the kin (as evidenced in this chapter); and, in view of such possibility, there could well be more implied by this tender reference to Rufus' mother than merely a warm personal compliment.

[29] Richard A. Batey, op. cit., p. 286.

[30] C. K. Barrett, loc. cit.

[31] Coneybeare and Howson, loc. cit.

[32] Adam Clarke, Commentary (New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1837), Vol. VI, p. 163.